We had a 3 - 2 lead over the Lakers and we all know what happened. This series will be just like last years. Lakers won games 1, 3, 6, and 7 just like Miami will. Just saying...Posted by RicoCeltic

I was thinking along the same lines as you. But after game 5, it occured to me that the Mavs veterans are more resilient comebackers and better outside shooters but Miami is more athletic and has more superstars. Maybe its a tossup.

Dallas has more players that can score than Boston did last year. Dallas has a size advantage in the front court. Most importantly, the refs are calling fouls fairly well. Last year's finals were the worst officiated Finals that I have ever seen. Unless you are deaf, dumb, and blind, you can't say that game 7 of last years Finals did not look like it was fixed for the Lakers to win. I could be wrong but I really believe that Dallas will close out the series in game 6.

We had a 3 - 2 lead over the Lakers and we all know what happened. This series will be just like last years. Lakers won games 1, 3, 6, and 7 just like Miami will. Just saying...Posted by RicoCeltic

How are you not locked up somewhere in a straightjacket?

No sane person has 600 posts in a few months trolling a message board. To say nothing of however many posts you have under the lakersavenger name. But to troll here while pretending to be a Celtics fan just brings the insanity to another level.

I see two major differences between this year's Mavericks team and last year's Celtics team:

1. The Mavericks can recover from a punch. They don't suffer emotional letdowns the way the 09-10 and 10-11 Celtics did, or the 10-11 Lakers. To the contrary, when Dallas slides, surrenders a lead, and even falls behind by a significant margin, they redouble their efforts and become extra motivated to win. Adversity galvanizes them, whereas adversity for the Celtics brought out the proverbial white flag. The Celtics wouldn't have won Games 2 or 5. Once the Heat stormed back and took the lead, the Celtics would lose by double digits. Not so with these Dallas Mavericks. They play until the end. They don't let the vicissitudes of the game knock their confidence. They don't need a comfortable coasting advantage in order to win a game.

2. The Mavericks have superior depth. As incredible a performer as Dirk Nowitzki is, he's got very talented teammates who generally deliver in the clutch. Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, JJ Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, Peja Stojokovic, and even Brian Cardinal, all fill very important functions. Dallas doesn't carry a lot of deadwood on its roster. Its players know their roles and execute them well. All are sufficiently well-rounded that they don't embarrass themselves on the court, in the way Rondo can get exposed for his inability to consistently hit open jumpers, or in the way all of the Celtics seem to disappear on the boards.

The Celtics are emotionally fragile. They have all the talent in the world, but they only harness it when everything seems to be under control and when the other team doesn't put up a fight. Lose control for even a little while and chaos ensues. The confidence and swagger disappear, and along with it, any hopes of reclaiming a lost lead. The Celtics have a frontrunner's style of play. They're like a marathon runner who sprints to the lead during the first 2/3 of the race but then slows precipitously when a runner approaches within 10 feet and collapses in a heap once surpassed by a couple of strides. There's no second gear. There's no belief in the ability to recover and fight onward. The Mavericks aren't built that way. They can lead from start to finish, they can lead only at the finish, or they can lead, lose a lead, and then regain it. They're tough. They're tenacious. They're focused. They're deliberate. Perhaps above all, they're calm. They don't get too high, they don't get too low. They play their game with the confidence that anything is possible. They trust themselves to overcome the prodigious impediments that inevitably attempt to derail any championship quest. And that's why comparing this year's Mavericks team to last year's Celtics team makes little sense. Their respective characters couldn't be more different.

I see two major differences between this year's Mavericks team and last year's Celtics team: 1. The Mavericks can recover from a punch. They don't suffer emotional letdowns the way the 09-10 and 10-11 Celtics did, or the 10-11 Lakers. To the contrary, when Dallas slides, surrenders a lead, and even falls behind by a significant margin, they redouble their efforts and become extra motivated to win. Adversity galvanizes them, whereas adversity for the Celtics brought out the proverbial white flag. The Celtics wouldn't have won Games 2 or 5. Once the Heat stormed back and took the lead, the Celtics would lose by double digits. Not so with these Dallas Mavericks. They play until the end. They don't let the vicissitudes of the game knock their confidence. They don't need a comfortable coasting advantage in order to win a game. 2. The Mavericks have superior depth. As incredible a performer as Dirk Nowitzki is, he's got very talented teammates who generally deliver in the clutch. Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, JJ Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, Peja Stojokovic, and even Brian Cardinal, all fill very important functions. Dallas doesn't carry a lot of deadwood on its roster. Its players know their roles and execute them well. All are sufficiently well-rounded that they don't embarrass themselves on the court, in the way Rondo can get exposed for his inability to consistently hit open jumpers, or in the way all of the Celtics seem to disappear on the boards. The Celtics are emotionally fragile. They have all the talent in the world, but they only harness it when everything seems to be under control and when the other team doesn't put up a fight. Lose control for even a little while and chaos ensues. The confidence and swagger disappear, and along with it, any hopes of reclaiming a lost lead. The Celtics have a frontrunner's style of play. They're like a marathon runner who sprints to the lead during the first 2/3 of the race but then slows precipitously when a runner approaches within 10 feet and collapses in a heap once surpassed by a couple of strides. There's no second gear. There's no belief in the ability to recover and fight onward. The Mavericks aren't built that way. They can lead from start to finish, they can lead only at the finish, or they can lead, lose a lead, and then regain it. They're tough. They're tenacious. They're focused. They're deliberate. Perhaps above all, they're calm. They don't get too high, they don't get too low. They play their game with the confidence that anything is possible. They trust themselves to overcome the prodigious impediments that inevitably attempt to derail any championship quest. And that's why comparing this year's Mavericks team to last year's Celtics team makes little sense. Their respective characters couldn't be more different.Posted by davidap

I see two major differences between this year's Mavericks team and last year's Celtics team: 1. The Mavericks can recover from a punch. They don't suffer emotional letdowns the way the 09-10 and 10-11 Celtics did, or the 10-11 Lakers. To the contrary, when Dallas slides, surrenders a lead, and even falls behind by a significant margin, they redouble their efforts and become extra motivated to win. Adversity galvanizes them, whereas adversity for the Celtics brought out the proverbial white flag. The Celtics wouldn't have won Games 2 or 5. Once the Heat stormed back and took the lead, the Celtics would lose by double digits. Not so with these Dallas Mavericks. They play until the end. They don't let the vicissitudes of the game knock their confidence. They don't need a comfortable coasting advantage in order to win a game. 2. The Mavericks have superior depth. As incredible a performer as Dirk Nowitzki is, he's got very talented teammates who generally deliver in the clutch. Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, JJ Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, Peja Stojokovic, and even Brian Cardinal, all fill very important functions. Dallas doesn't carry a lot of deadwood on its roster. Its players know their roles and execute them well. All are sufficiently well-rounded that they don't embarrass themselves on the court, in the way Rondo can get exposed for his inability to consistently hit open jumpers, or in the way all of the Celtics seem to disappear on the boards. The Celtics are emotionally fragile. They have all the talent in the world, but they only harness it when everything seems to be under control and when the other team doesn't put up a fight. Lose control for even a little while and chaos ensues. The confidence and swagger disappear, and along with it, any hopes of reclaiming a lost lead. The Celtics have a frontrunner's style of play. They're like a marathon runner who sprints to the lead during the first 2/3 of the race but then slows precipitously when a runner approaches within 10 feet and collapses in a heap once surpassed by a couple of strides. There's no second gear. There's no belief in the ability to recover and fight onward. The Mavericks aren't built that way. They can lead from start to finish, they can lead only at the finish, or they can lead, lose a lead, and then regain it. They're tough. They're tenacious. They're focused. They're deliberate. Perhaps above all, they're calm. They don't get too high, they don't get too low. They play their game with the confidence that anything is possible. They trust themselves to overcome the prodigious impediments that inevitably attempt to derail any championship quest. And that's why comparing this year's Mavericks team to last year's Celtics team makes little sense. Their respective characters couldn't be more different.Posted by davidap

Scathing analysis but accurate.

Its Rondo's team for better or for worse and, as such, reflects Rondo's leadership, character and drive.

In Response to Let's not forget what the Lakers did to us las years Finals... : How are you not locked up somewhere in a straightjacket? No sane person has 600 posts in a few months trolling a message board. To say nothing of however many posts you have under the lakersavenger name. But to troll here while pretending to be a Celtics fan just brings the insanity to another level. You need some help. Badly.Posted by df2

I agree with you about RicoCeltic. He is very annoying and pretends to be a Celtics fan, but we all know that he isn't.

Dallas has more players that can score than Boston did last year. Dallas has a size advantage in the front court. Most importantly, the refs are calling fouls fairly well. Last year's finals were the worst officiated Finals that I have ever seen. Unless you are deaf, dumb, and blind, you can't say that game 7 of last years Finals did not look like it was fixed for the Lakers to win. I could be wrong but I really believe that Dallas will close out the series in game 6.Posted by guyfromtex

I agree with you about Dallas having more outside shooters than the Celtics did last year. The officiating has been more fairly called than last year. It would be great to see them win the next game. If this happens it will be terrific to get a chance to celebrate in Dallas, even though you are not a Mavericks fan.

In Response to Re: Let's not forget what the Lakers did to us las years Finals... : I agree with you about RicoCeltic. He is very annoying and pretends to be a Celtics fan, but we all know that he isn't. Posted by susan250

So what if he isn't? Try the IGNORE option and he completely disappears.

Considering LA was on the wrong end of the the worst finals collapse ever I am surprised they even bother bringing up winning by barely 4 points after Thugtess and Bynuts took out Perkins in Game 6..................

In Response to Re: Let's not forget what the Lakers did to us las years Finals... : I agree with you about RicoCeltic. He is very annoying and pretends to be a Celtics fan, but we all know that he isn't. Posted by susan250

Not to mention. Carlile is a great coach... His adjustment of playing barea in the starting lineup is working wonders. Remember that at one point barea was line 4-15 for the field. It takes a lot of b alls to say, hey you are playing so bad that I will put you in the starting lineup. The heat have no answer to Barea penetrations as the heat are collapsing on him leaving Dirk open. And the zone is killing the Heat. Suddenlyu, Lebron reverts to his average 3 point shooting.

Last night I was wondering why Lebron was settling for 3's in the final quarter when the game was on the line. I guess Pippen was premature calling Lebron a better player than Jordan. What a joke.

Rick Carlisle has a great team. In fact, he has 2 complete NBA teams, accumulated by a billionaire owner. Who can compete with that? Almost any coach in the NBA can win with Dallas's roster.

Shawn Marion, an injured Caron Butler, and Peja Stojakovic at small forward. 7 footer Dirk Nowitzki, 7 footer Tyson Chandler, 7 footer Brendan Heywood, 6'11" Ian Mahinmi, and one of the best big point guards in 6'4" Jason Kidd and 6'5" DeShawn Stevenson at other guard spot with Jason Terry and Jose Barea coming off the bench. Who can lose with such a roster?

Winning in the NBA requires talent. And to get talent requires gobbs of dough. Mark Cuban has the money to throw at players and is willing to accumulate as much talent as money can buy. The system in place avantages bigger markets with rich owners.

Kervin McHale was fretting about these facts just yesterday on NBA TV. So when a team wins a championship all these facts are ignored, buried in the celebration. Danny Ainge took advantage of the rules when Boston accumulated the necessary talent to win in 2008. Jerry Buss did the same and won 2 titles out of the previous 3. And look who's left in the finals? Miami and Dallas, 2 franchises that followed the same strategy.

That's why I always put things in perspective. It's just a game that is manipulated through trades, the draft, and some luck. And when a team wins, if its L.A., I'm happy but I don't delude myself into believing that it's something extraordinary. We got lucky and had some significant advantages that creates an uneven playing field.

We had a 3 - 2 lead over the Lakers and we all know what happened. This series will be just like last years. Lakers won games 1, 3, 6, and 7 just like Miami will. Just saying...Posted by RicoCeltic

Excellent observation. I was thinking the same thing after that game last night. Terry and Barea played like Big Baby and Nate in Game 5 last year, then the series shifted and the Lakers throttled the Celtics for their back to back title.

In Response to Let's not forget what the Lakers did to us las years Finals... : Excellent observation. I was thinking the same thing after that game last night. Terry and Barea played like Big Baby and Nate in Game 5 last year, then the series shifted and the Lakers throttled the Celtics for their back to back title.Posted by koberulz

In Response to Re: Let's not forget what the Lakers did to us las years Finals... : Please try and stay on topic. I am knew to this board and I would like to avoid any personal attacks. Thanks!Posted by koberulz

Rick Carlisle has a great team. In fact, he has 2 complete NBA teams, accumulated by a billionaire owner. Who can compete with that? Almost any coach in the NBA can win with Dallas's roster. Posted by LakerFan67

This words would have had more credibility if they were posted at the beginning of the season, after Butlers and Dirks injury when they lost game after game, after they let Portland make a 23 pt comeback or even after they lost game 1 of the finals.

I see two major differences between this year's Mavericks team and last year's Celtics team: 1. The Mavericks can recover from a punch. They don't suffer emotional letdowns the way the 09-10 and 10-11 Celtics did, or the 10-11 Lakers. To the contrary, when Dallas slides, surrenders a lead, and even falls behind by a significant margin, they redouble their efforts and become extra motivated to win. Adversity galvanizes them, whereas adversity for the Celtics brought out the proverbial white flag. The Celtics wouldn't have won Games 2 or 5. Once the Heat stormed back and took the lead, the Celtics would lose by double digits. Not so with these Dallas Mavericks. They play until the end. They don't let the vicissitudes of the game knock their confidence. They don't need a comfortable coasting advantage in order to win a game. 2. The Mavericks have superior depth. As incredible a performer as Dirk Nowitzki is, he's got very talented teammates who generally deliver in the clutch. Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, JJ Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, Peja Stojokovic, and even Brian Cardinal, all fill very important functions. Dallas doesn't carry a lot of deadwood on its roster. Its players know their roles and execute them well. All are sufficiently well-rounded that they don't embarrass themselves on the court, in the way Rondo can get exposed for his inability to consistently hit open jumpers, or in the way all of the Celtics seem to disappear on the boards. The Celtics are emotionally fragile. They have all the talent in the world, but they only harness it when everything seems to be under control and when the other team doesn't put up a fight. Lose control for even a little while and chaos ensues. The confidence and swagger disappear, and along with it, any hopes of reclaiming a lost lead. The Celtics have a frontrunner's style of play. They're like a marathon runner who sprints to the lead during the first 2/3 of the race but then slows precipitously when a runner approaches within 10 feet and collapses in a heap once surpassed by a couple of strides. There's no second gear. There's no belief in the ability to recover and fight onward. The Mavericks aren't built that way. They can lead from start to finish, they can lead only at the finish, or they can lead, lose a lead, and then regain it. They're tough. They're tenacious. They're focused. They're deliberate. Perhaps above all, they're calm. They don't get too high, they don't get too low. They play their game with the confidence that anything is possible. They trust themselves to overcome the prodigious impediments that inevitably attempt to derail any championship quest. And that's why comparing this year's Mavericks team to last year's Celtics team makes little sense. Their respective characters couldn't be more different.Posted by davidap

Stating that the Celtics were emotionally fragile is far from the truth. Last year's Celtics team was probably the grittiest team that the NBA has ever seen. All the basketball pundits were in awe of Boston's amazing run to the Finals. They slammed the NBA's best team and overwhelming favorite to win the Finals last year(Cleveland) and forced them to say "uncle", they did the same to a tough Orlando team. They beat down the Lakers in the Finals despite having losing their starting Center to a freak accident. Boston only lost because of the poor officiating. It appears that you have a horrible problem with your memory.

Considering LA was on the wrong end of the the worst finals collapse ever I am surprised they even bother bringing up winning by barely 4 points after Thugtess and Bynuts took out Perkins in Game 6..................Posted by CelitcsFoo

Considering the worst finals collapse was contributed by Bynum missing all the final series, at least Perkins played 5+ games...

How far would the Celtics go without Perkins? Look no further than 2011...

I see two major differences between this year's Mavericks team and last year's Celtics team: 1. The Mavericks can recover from a punch. They don't suffer emotional letdowns the way the 09-10 and 10-11 Celtics did, or the 10-11 Lakers. To the contrary, when Dallas slides, surrenders a lead, and even falls behind by a significant margin, they redouble their efforts and become extra motivated to win. Adversity galvanizes them, whereas adversity for the Celtics brought out the proverbial white flag. The Celtics wouldn't have won Games 2 or 5. Once the Heat stormed back and took the lead, the Celtics would lose by double digits. Not so with these Dallas Mavericks. They play until the end. They don't let the vicissitudes of the game knock their confidence. They don't need a comfortable coasting advantage in order to win a game. 2. The Mavericks have superior depth. As incredible a performer as Dirk Nowitzki is, he's got very talented teammates who generally deliver in the clutch. Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, JJ Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, Peja Stojokovic, and even Brian Cardinal, all fill very important functions. Dallas doesn't carry a lot of deadwood on its roster. Its players know their roles and execute them well. All are sufficiently well-rounded that they don't embarrass themselves on the court, in the way Rondo can get exposed for his inability to consistently hit open jumpers, or in the way all of the Celtics seem to disappear on the boards. The Celtics are emotionally fragile. They have all the talent in the world, but they only harness it when everything seems to be under control and when the other team doesn't put up a fight. Lose control for even a little while and chaos ensues. The confidence and swagger disappear, and along with it, any hopes of reclaiming a lost lead. The Celtics have a frontrunner's style of play. They're like a marathon runner who sprints to the lead during the first 2/3 of the race but then slows precipitously when a runner approaches within 10 feet and collapses in a heap once surpassed by a couple of strides. There's no second gear. There's no belief in the ability to recover and fight onward. The Mavericks aren't built that way. They can lead from start to finish, they can lead only at the finish, or they can lead, lose a lead, and then regain it. They're tough. They're tenacious. They're focused. They're deliberate. Perhaps above all, they're calm. They don't get too high, they don't get too low. They play their game with the confidence that anything is possible. They trust themselves to overcome the prodigious impediments that inevitably attempt to derail any championship quest. And that's why comparing this year's Mavericks team to last year's Celtics team makes little sense. Their respective characters couldn't be more different.Posted by davidap